Impbovement ik signalling appaeatus



l. S. GISBORNE. Sigallng Apparatus.

Nol 60,502.

' Patented Dec. 18, 1866.

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@with i gunst @fitta IMPROVEMENT IN G APPARATUS.

JOHN SAGHEVERELL GISBORN E, OF LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND. Leners Para# No. 60,502, and Member 18, 1866.'

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TO ALL WHOM IT MAYCONCERN: y l

`Be it known thatI, JOHN 'SAonnvnnnnL GISBORNE, of Liverpool, England, electrical engineer, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus forSignalling on board ship and elsewheref'.- and'I de hereby` declare that the following is a full and exact description of the construction and operation thereof, reference being had to the accompanying sheet of drawings, making a part of this speciiication, and to the figures and letters of referencethereon; that is to say l n The object of my invention is to enable persons separated from each` other`V a considerable distance, or placed in such circumstances that Yspeech. cannot alwaysbe heard, to' communicate vby signals, both visible and audible. I eifect the said communication by mechanical apparatus, so arranged with` corresponding visible signals at both ends that motion given by hand at-the sending end of the apparatus will bring inte view thecorrespending and desired order, message, or device, at the receiving end. It also consists in meansused in connection therewith, whereby, at the same time, a bell or gong is sounded as to-4 invite attention to the visible signal given. i I I My said apparatus can be employed for signalling or communicating on or in lmany places; as instances, on railway trains, in; mine and mine shafts, from one part ,to another'in mannfactories and warehouses. As, however, it is particularly well adapted for signalling between the captain or oi'licer in command of a 'ship and the engineer or steersman, a comparatively limited number of 7 the mcssagesbeing necessary, I will hereinafter particularly describe apparatus for use on boardiship, asany mechaniclan will be competent, from the description which follows, to apply similar apparatus in other'places and positions, where the conditions are somewhat .different. And in describing the said apparatus I will first refer to all the parts and afterwards state particularly what I claim as of my invention.

The drawings represent, by y Figure l, a'. perspective view of complete apparatus, the exhibiting partat the receiving end consisting of t. romaine disk.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal and` vertical section of the apparatus shown by iig.' 41"; -part of' a rudder stockk provided with tell-,tale mechanism being also shown; and i l l Figure 3'is an elevation of the exhibiting apparatus,.the front of thecase and disk being removed. Figure 4 is Aa front elevation.

Figure 5, a longitudinal elevation, the front of the case being removed; and

Figure 6, an end elevation, the end ofthe case being'removed; all of another modification of receiving and4 exhibiting apparatus, designated by me the roller and canvas arrangement, to be used when preferred and there is room, in place of the disk arrangement first above referred to.` l

In figs. 1, 2, and`3, like letters of reference denote the same parts. y l v Of the sending apparatus, a is the stand .or frame'; it is usually made ornamental 'andplaced Aon the bridge vor other exposed and convenient partfof the lship. bis .the dial whereon the orders,"messagesyeharacters, or

devices, of which, as before mentioned,"'there are counterparts at the receiving end, which 1- constitute -thevisible signals, are inscribed or placed.` c is a stud carrying the pointer, d, vandI pulley, e `these parts are'V free to be operated by the handle, f, which can be moved'laterally. f is provided with the thumblspring, g, shaped to t. into the notches, 7i, so as to hold the parts'in the desired position and make iteertain that just snicient ,motion has been given and transmitted vto bring the whole' of the desire/d signal into view at the receiving eind; that is to say, to bring into view the signal corresponding to that opposite to which thepointer, d, has been brought. i is another dial, provided with a 'pointer,'to be operated from the receiving end, as hereinafter mentioned, and

j is a. lamp to illuminate both dials and to allow them to be' seen at a glance 'by day and night. The motion of the sending apparatus is transmittedfrom the pulley, e, by the double line or endless conductor, lc, made of wire, wire cord, rope, chain, bands, or other flexible material or construction not `easily stretched. I prefer wire cord. k is led away from the'sending apparatus to the receiving apparatus; it operates the latter. In conveying k, under ordinary circumstances, from one place to .another in a ship, it is convenient to use con'- taining pipesl or tubes, here marked l, and anti-friction pulleys," m, for by these k can be carried round vcurves and angles with great easel In the receiving apparatus, the'cas'e of which is marked n, the motion-transmitter,

7c, passes over the pulley, o, and by being-taut or. fastened thereto, imparts motion to `it as well as to the shaft, p, and the disk, g, fixed on the latter. On the surface of` g the signals corresponding to those on the dial, Z, are inscribed or formed at such distances apart that only one'can be seen when the thumb-spring, g, is in any of the notches, L. When op and gare made to move, 4eachof the 'tappets, r, secured in o, catches one of the levers, s, hung on or supported by pins, t, and kept in position by springs, u and ux, and causes one of the hammers, o, to strike the gongv or bell, w, and thereby give audible signals, 'and this in every case, whichever Way the pulley, o, is made to move or rotate. The ends ofthe levers, s, are provided with short jointed pieces, so as to allovv the tappets, r, to pass in one direction one oftthe hammers Without raising it and sounding w. The opening, x, in the front of 71.,.is just large cnough't allow one'order or visiblesignal to appear. The word stop,`shovvn, is an order frequently given by the captain to the engineer of a steamship.

In practice it is desirable that the engineer or steersman of .a ship should be enabled to reply that he has received Aa signal land that he understands it7 for this purpose sending apparatus similar 'to that above described is provided and connected to operate, by motion-conductors, the pointer, y, and bring it opposite the desired signal on z'. Instead of providing special sending apparatus from a stccrsman, the motion of the rudder itself can be .made to give the reply, and thereby act as whatA is known asa tell-tale. Details are shown in tig. 2, where a is a part of a rudder-stock, b a Wheel' or .lever iixed thereon, e motion-transmitter, passed over or connected to 6. c' is led through the same tube, Z, as 7c to dial'z', within which latter c passes over or isconnected to pulley d, the axis o shaft of which carries and gives motion to the pointer y. In figs. 4,5, and 6, e is the case, with opening f. g is the motion-transmitter, similar to c, above mentioned; it passes over the pulley, L, and gives motion thereto, as'well as to the rollers, z", and the canvas, j,' onv the latter the visible signals are formed or placed. The rollers, "5', are-supported inthe frame, Ic', and move inthe same direction at the same time, thereby allowing the desired order tobe brought opposite to f. The word port, shown, is a Well-known nautical terni.v t When thepulley, z, is moved, the tappets or pegs, l', come into -contact With the lower ends of the spring-hammers, m,'and cause them to strike the bells,n.

.That others may be enabled 'to operate apparatusconstructed according to my invention, Iwill'now set forth how this is effected. The handle, f, and spring, g, are moved laterally, so as to bring the pointer d opposite to the signal which it is desired should appear at .'o, at the receiving end; the said movement by c and 7c is transmitted to o p and g, and by the length of stroke or movement the visible signal on q is brought opposite to 9:. The motion of o at the same time, however, brings the tappets, r, whichever Way the movement may be made, into contact with s, and thereby, with the' assistance of u and ux, the hammers, v, are caused to strike 'w and give the audible signal; thus giving an audible signal whenever a visible one is given. The like motion operates to produce similar results in the arrangement shown by figs. 4, 5, and 6, and I would have it here understood that where space is available'I prefer Athe arrangement shown `by these last-mentioned figures, because the motion-transmitters de not require attention so frequently as when arranged in the manner shown by gs. 1, 2, and 3, so as to enable the receiverV of a signal to give reply that the order has been received. Sending apparatus, to be operatedby hand can be provided orthe motion can be taken from a by b and c and transmitted by the' latter to the pulley d', and the indicating pointer z.' The materials of which the several parts are or may be constructed are-shown by coloring of the ordinary character on the sheet o f drawings'.

' Having now described the nature and particulars of my said invention, and how the same may-be carried into effect, I would have it understood that what I claim is- 1. The pulley e, stud gpointer d, and handle f, arranged substantially in the manner described, as means visible signals, or both. v v

2. In combination with the abovethe springg, constructed to fallinto the notches L, in the manner and for the purpose set forth.

3. The dials b and placed close together,- snbstantially as shown on the 4drawings, so that they are illuminated by one lamp and can be seen at a gance. s l

4. The employment of one or more ilexible endless or double-line conductors, 7c, as means for conveying or communicating vmotion for operating signalling apparatus, and for conveying or communicating the motion of a rudder stock, substantially as described.y l

5. The combination of the pulley o, disk q, case n, with opening x, and motion-conductors lc, either with or Without the bell or signalling apparatus, substantially as described.

In testimonywhereof I have hereunto set my name in presence of two subscribing witnesses.A

JOHN SACHEVERELL GISBORNE.

for giving motion to one or morev endless or double-line flexible motion-conductors, Ic, to give either audible or Witnesses:

A JOHN P. Kme, JOHN Dnvms. 

